The Butler did it, but not by herself

If the West Texas A&M volleyball team was all Sarah Butler, then it probably wouldn't be the favorite to win this weekend as host of the NCAA Division II Southwest Regional Tournament.

For that matter, the Lady Buffs probably wouldn't be 33-1, the No. 4-ranked team in the country or the host of the regional tournament Saturday and Sunday at the West Texas A&M Fieldhouse in Canyon.

"Those girls behind her are more than capable of handling a lot of the workload and playing at a high level," first-year WT head coach Tony Graystone said. "Really, that will become much more important in the playoffs. Throw the best player in the country on top of it and I feel really good about it."

Sarah Butler is that player.

From meager beginnings on the volleyball courts of Kids Inc. to the days of leading Amarillo High to an undefeated state championship to her current days as a Lady Buff, Butler always has been a winner.

Not that she has a whole lot of pride about the early days.

"Back when you're about 8 years old," she recalled with a laugh, "the team that could serve over the net was the team that won."

The level and the stakes have gotten higher ever since, and Butler - a 6-foot-1 outside hitter - will begin her quest for a second NCAA Division II national title with the Lady Buffs in her three years with the program. It all starts at 3:30 p.m. Saturday for WT (33-1) when it faces Regis, Colo. (22-10) in a regional semifinal for a spot in Sunday's 1 p.m. championship.

Along the way, Butler has earned more honors than probably she can even remember - a 1997 NCAA Division II Player of the Year honor is at the top of the list. For her, the perfect way to finish would be a 1999 national title to go along with the on she helped the Lady Buffs claim in '97.

The first step will be this weekend's regional tournament, with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight the weekend of Dec. 2-4 in Battle Creek, Mich.

"After I'm done, I think I'll be able to take my experiences and relationships I've had here and go pretty far with it," Butler said. "What you take from it is not the actual play and physical abilities. You take the relationships and those learning experiences. That's what you remember."

Of course, another national championship wouldn't be a bad experience, either.

Butler has been the focal point of this season's Lady Buff run with a .409 attack percentage and 624 kills along with five tournament most valuable player awards and five LSC Hitter of the Week awards. Earlier this week, she was named LSC South Division Player of the Year for the third straight season.

During her Lady Buff career, she has earned three NCAA Division II National Player of the Week awards and has reached 25-plus kills on 11 occasions - including 40 kills on Nov. 6, 1998 against Texas A&M-Kingsville, a NCAA Division II record for a four-game match.

"You can't underestimate what she's done for the program in getting it back to the highest level," Graystone said. "We were in the top 20 (previously), but we weren't in the top three or four. She came in and had a good supporting cast and I think she's been a primary reason why the program's back at the level it is now. It helps with us to recruit better players and that incoming freshmen not only come here, but they develop a little bit quicker."

Of course, Butler didn't travel a straight path to Canyon.

As a high school junior, she helped lead Amarillo High to an undefeated Class 5A state championship in 1994 and then overcame arthroscopic knee surgery late in the season to help the Sandies reach the Region I-5A final in 1995.

She signed with the University of Texas and was an immediate standout as a freshman during the fall of 1996, earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors. Longhorn head coach Mick Haley left the program to become the U.S. Olympic coach, though, and Butler made the decision in early 1997 to head back home rather than go through a year of adjustment under new coach Jim Moore.

"Jim Moore is a great coach, but I just wasn't comfortable," she said. "There were no goals set and I don't work that way. I have to have something in front of me as a goal."

West Texas A&M already was expecting to have a strong team after failing to reach the Elite Eight for four straight seasons, and the arrival of Butler sent the Lady Buffs over the top under head coach Debbie Hendricks.

Butler also saw the move back home as a benefit for her family.

"It definitely has had its perks," she said. "My parents have been able to be around and be part of it a little more along with both sets of grandparents. I think my playing is a positive outlet in the their hectic lives. They get to come and watch a game and get away from their reality for a couple of hours."

The reality of WT opponents during Butler's career has been a whole lot of losing.

West Texas A&M has gone 95-11 in Butler's tenure and has the possibility to win 100 matches if it wins the national title this season.

"She is so competitive," Graystone said. "I have never seen any player who hates to lose that much - really, she does. Not just a game or a match, but a sideout or a rally. That does make a difference."

The numbers don't lie. Butler has 1,889 kills in her three-year career at WT and 2,211 for her collegiate career, counting the one season at Texas.

Now all there's left to do is hit the court this weekend and try to earn another berth to the Elite Eight.

"This is something we've been working all season for," Butler said. "Right now, it's just time to go out and enjoy it and work hard."